


Child of Lavender Eyes

by ap3candrawtoo



Category: Deligracy's orphanage LP, The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-18 22:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20320342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ap3candrawtoo/pseuds/ap3candrawtoo
Summary: (This story diverges from Deligracy's LP after Plum's birth)Plum B. Hornsleth lives in an old orphanage with five other orphans who all have "curses" but she herself simply has the curse of not knowing where she comes from. After the discovery that a well is missing a face and a door on the top floor exists only sometimes, Plum must team up with the other orphans to solve the mystery of her parentage before the house swallows them all up in darkness.





	Child of Lavender Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Deligracy](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Deligracy).

It was the first day of autumn that brought the promise of an especially chilly season this year. Birds still chipped in protest, not deterred by the cold that picked apart their lovely homes in the high branches, leaf by leaf, falling down to be crunched underfoot. In the quiet fishing town of Brindleton Bay, it was easy to lose sense of time without the season’s reminder that time was indeed moving forward.

It was not the first thought that came to Plum’s head though.  
The chocolate girl was struggling to keep her grip on the boulder attached to the edge of a cliff, her dainty feet dangling- sporting a scuffed up pair of black dress shoes.  
It wasn’t easy to hang there, her arms repeatedly informed her mind that they were incapable of holding the weight of her body with the echoed beats of a racing heart and flame like pain in her joints growing consistently. Her mind did it’s best to block out the concerns that budded with every wave of discomfort. In all her years of living she did not take to crying or panicking to solve her problems. It never got Plum anywhere in all her ten years of life and she doubted doing so now would hardly help her in this current situation.

Plum tried to get a better handle on the boulder, a few leafs got between her fingers as she clawed carefully at the granite surface. If she wasn’t careful, the lack of traction on one of those leafs could easily cause her to slip and lose her grip completely.

She ventured a glance over shoulder to the creek below, a matter of thirty feet or so below her, a tiny stream that would do little to break her fall surrounded by more boulders. The best Plum could hope for now was that she would be found and receive the help she required. Somehow, depending on who it was that would arrive to help her- Plum was more scared of that then simply letting go and falling to her death. With a puff of air exiting through her lips, Plum tried to lift herself up and the new pressure made her left hand slip. Even someone as calm as Plum had to let out a squeak of alarm as losing grip on her left made her body swing and beat against the rock wall she hung from. Tears surfaced with some blinks, leaves and dirt alike trying to get in Plum's eyes. Her toes scraped at the wall, asking if there was a small chance of nook or crack she could use as leverage. There was none. Plum's violet eyes blinked away more tears, refusing to give into the burning sensation of dust on her lenses.

A tuft of black hair peeked over the edge and Plum found herself looking into the shaded face of Daichi. His pale face broke into a smile as he watched Plum struggle, leaning on his right arm as his left hugged his body in his chestnut coat.

"What are you doing Plum?" His voice cracked as in the past few months it was struggling to find the frequency it wanted to land on. The boy was fairly skinny as his growth spurts were coming in, giving him more limb than body. His eyes were a dark bronze that always played unsympathetic melodies with any subject they observed.

He certainly was near the bottom of the list of Plum's ideal heroes.

"I thought I saw something shiny." She hesitantly confessed in a mumble.

"It's not like you're a bird. God, how are you so stupid?" Daichi sneered, "I wonder what Ms. Hornsleth would say if she saw the trouble you got yourself into again."

"It won't be trouble if you just help me up and don't tell her." Plum's button nose curled up in disgust as Daichi treated this as an amusing tease.

"You know I can't help you." Daichi lifted his left arm by the elbow, exposing the marble fist, the same size his right hand had been in his infancy, "Just your luck that the only person who finds you is me."

"Than go get Brody." Plum couldn't hide the urgency out of her voice as she felt the rock scrape against her finger tips. Daichi squinted at her like they spoke different languages, a frown growing on face as he observed her struggle.

"I'm not your slave." Daichi shook his head and stood up.

"Daichi!" Plum huffed and Daichi gave her one hard look before turning his back and disappearing from view. Plum growled and she lowered her chin to see if her eyes could find what her toes failed to locate. As she searched, her hands tok turns clearing the space and trying to find a better grip than slick rock. Plum's lungs started to strain her with labored breaths as she attempted to lift herself again. There were echoes of pebbles bouncing off the boulders below and into the creek with splashes as Plum clawed at the edge. She took a small break to steady her breath before balancing herself against the wall with her feet. Her hands slipped dangerously close to the edge as she pushed herself up against the wall. Plum was able to get an elbow on the edge and she attempted to use that as leverage to get her other arm up.

Just when it appeared she would be able to get out of this one by herself, her coat sleeve tore and Plum was falling very quickly. The scream escaped from her lips whether she willed it or not but was cut short when a hand wrapped around her wrist. Plum snapped her head up to see Brody holding her there over the edge.

"Christ, Plum." He cursed and grabbed her arm with his other hand to pull her up. WHen Plum was safely away from the edge and into Brody's shaking arms, the two sat there huffing and hugging each other. Plum pulled away from Brody's muscled arms to look at his face.

"Thanks Brody-"

"What were you thinking, Plum!?" Brody shook her shoulders, "Ms. Hornsleth told us a million times how dangerous this side of the forest is, what are you doing here!?"

"I-"

"Plum!" A younger voice cried and Plum saw a girl running towards them, her orange curls flying around her plump body as she jogged to them. Her dress almost tore when her knees hit the ground and she wrapped her arms around Plum's neck, bawling.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" Plum patted her friend's back as Bonnie sobbed into her shoulder. The other kids came into view as they made their way over to her, running in their dresses and suit pants. Plum hoped that maybe, Daichi had done what she asked and she owed him a thanks.

That's when she saw the tall and bean pole of a woman coming towards them too, Plum's heart sank.

"Ms. Hornsleth, this isn't-" Brody and Bonnie were pulled aside and Ms. Hornsleth lifted Plum to her feet by the collar of her now torn coat. Plum's nose almost touched the outstretch of Ms. Hornsleth's beak like nose, her beady brown eyes were furious and her thin lips were pressed in an almost invisible line.

"Plum Hornsleth, what are you doing?" Her tone was low, Plum could almost hear the ticks of a timer about to explode in the words.

"I-" Plum closed her mouth, feeling the dry taste of dirt in her mouth, "I'm sorry Ms. Hornsleth."

"Sorry?" Ms. Hornsleth's eyes burned like daggers into Plum's, Plum fixed on a point on the ground, "Your dress is ruined, your hair is a mess, and of all the days you choose today to defy death."

"I thought I saw something in the creek."

"Oh, I see, how very important. And tell me, what did you find in the creek?" Ms. Honrsleth's constants slithered out behind gritted teeth. Plum shook her head and Ms. Hornsleth grabbed Plum's chin to force her to face her. Ms. Hornsleth's grip tightened on Plum's jaw and it became as sore as the joints that were finally began to relax in her arms. A headache bore it's way from the front of Plum's head. 

"Look at me Plum, answer the question."

"Nothing." Plum muttered.

"Exactly." Ms. Hornsleth pulled on Plum's face and Plum noticed her breaths were becoming shallow, "Because what happens when we let our curiosity control us?" One thin, perfectly manicured eyebrow lifted and Plum took note of the amount of lines on Ms. Hornsleth's forehead.

"Curiosity hurts us."

"That's right." Ms. Hornsleth let go of Plum's chin and stood straight up, looking down at Plum from her large chin, "We will discuss this later." She turned to the others, "Children, get back to the house, you have guests to entertain." Ms. Hornsleth glanced at Plum, "You will go to bed without dinner." She crossed her arms behind her back and started the walk back to the house. The others silently followed her, Bonnie squeezed Plum's shoulder and Brody offered a sympathetic smile. Plum looked at Daichi and he shrugged his shoulders. With a sigh, Plum followed after the rest.  
The Hornsleth Home for Orphans was the older of the establishments in Brindleton Bay and notorious for having the most unique of children among it's residency. The house was old and neighbors always whispered of strange occurrences only seen as flashes and shadows from the windows. For an orphanage, it's a little too quiet, overly calm. There wasn't much traffic in it's part of the neighborhood and people didn't come that often around, besides the butler who seemed like the only normal entity on the premises. Trees grew on those grounds that weren't found anywhere else in town, the orphanage had its own set of graves, many of the tombs left a mystery because inscriptions were too wrapped to be read. The house itself was a jigsaw of brick and waning support beams of aged and washed out oak. Nobody really knew the people that lived there, even less were aware of the individuals that came from the always shaded establishment.

There was a time every three months however that the orphanage opened its doors to the public and eagerly invited for potential parents to visit. At the turn of the season, one or two couples came by to see if maybe one of the children that lived there was the right fit for their family. At least, that was the hope of the children who lived in the orphanage, more likely or not any that came wanted to test the validity of the rumors for themselves. What they found though was mostly disappointing in nature.

If there was one thing Ms. Hornsleth did for the children, it was hide their informaties in front of normal people who came to visit. It was always a source of entertainment for Plum. She never got bored at watching the others do what they did best.

Lie.

When they reached the house and Ms. Hornsleth pointed toward the bottom floor and Plum went to the communal bedroom with her head down. When she closed the door behind her, she removed her coat and took in the dirty and torn state of her skirt. Plum would probably not get breakfast too for ruining her clothes. Plum kicked her shoes off and changed into jeans and her long sleeved sweater, featuring some holes self made for her thumbs. Plum sat on her bed with a creak and waited for three minutes as she heard the voices up stairs increase. She figured if Ms. Hornsleth was busy enough, she could sneak a peek at the kids and see them do their work.  
After a good few more minutes, Plum got up and snuck her way up stairs to peek through the windows at the guest inside the living room.

The best at pretending was Brody by far. Even though he was the oldest, Brody wasn't lacking in popularity with potential parents. There was always a big crowd around the tall and handsome boy. He sat in the middle of the biggest couch as mostly women surrounded him, all blushing when their eyes met Brody's unique liquid gold irises. Plum didn't understand it but Bonnie told her that it was because Brody had an olive complexion and subtle muscles. Somehow he had convinced Ms. Hornsleth to let him keep his shiny wavy hair to his shoulders and it framed his face perfectly. Brody had a dimple on his left cheek when he smiled and all around him were very relaxed regardless of what he did. Plum was always fascinated by how he managed to hide how stiff he was in front of strangers. Brody only sat that straight and smiled that rigidly when he was surrounded by people. She thought as she watched some women touch him on his shoulders or arms how they couldn't notice how pale he got with each contact.

The second oldest of the orphans, Gemini, was decidedly less popular with people. The sixteen year old rarely talked to others and always had her arms folded and legs close together. If anybody did talk to her it would be a short conversation as Gemini wasn't interested in letting anybody linger by her. She was always dressed in black and used her dyed locks as a way to hide. If Gemini was kind or even bothered to try for a smile, it was under the scrutinizing gaze of Ms. Hornsleth. As it was at the moment, Gemini was in the corner, fiddling with her gloves as she did when she was annoyed.  
On the other hand, Kisar was on the other couch making all the guests laugh. He was short for even a fourteen year old and it was believed he would never hit his growth spurt. Unlike everybody else, he was calm and relaxed with other people. Kisar was very built and his dark skin didn't have any blemishes to speak of. Kisar always played with his feet or legs no matter how much Ms. Hornsleth made him fight it. Kisar had to sit cross legged or hugging one leg because every time he had legs he could hardly believe it, even if it's been four years since he got them. Kisar was extremely charismatic and had to be the loudest in the room. Even through the window, Plum could tell he was chatting everybody's ears off. Bonnie always told her it was because he was from Sulani, and everybody from there never stopped talking.

The plump and mess of wild red curls Bonnie was excitedly impressing two couples with her knowledge of medical conditions. Bonnie was obviously nervous as she kept shifting her weight and picking at the buttons of her dress and tugging at the bow falling out of her hair. She was twelve but rocked around on her feet like she was five. No matter how figity Plum's freckled best friend was she always was quick to make sure her heavy lensed glass slipped even inched off her narrow nose. Bonnie's trademark was informing people of all the dangers in the world as it was all Bonnie read about in her free time. Bonnie wasn't a sleeper and her thoughts always came out in all the many phobias she collected like one collected postage stamps. It wasn't that Bonnie was a morbid girl, she had simply seen too much and wanted to be sure how best to avoid death as much as she could.

Then there was Daichi, fiddling with his fake cast as concerned adults asked him how he injured his left arm. Daichi was two years older than Plum but he acted like he was a toddler many times, tonight being no exception as he had a hard time hiding his "curse" as Ms. Hornsleth considered all of the kids' conditions. The first time Daichi was introduced to the seasonal event, he showed off his stone hand to everybody and it was a huge mess Ms. Hornsleth had to clean up. Plum never asked how she did it, it was one of the many things she knew Ms. Hornsleth never told her. It took a few nights in the basement for him to learn Ms. Hornsleth wouldn't put up with his inability to cover up his condition. He was the only person besides Plum who spent so much time down there for doing bad things. Plum even once thought the amount they had in common could make them friends. But times like today when he told Ms. Hornsleth on her told her Daichi was better off being her enemy.  
Plum tore her eyes from him at the fireplace and settled on the finger sandwiches that were sitting on the coffee table by Kisar. Her stomach growled furiously and her mouth salivated with the burning question why the sandwiches were just left sitting there. Plum sighed with the grumble of her stomach and caught Daichi staring at her. Plum's eyes grew wide as Daichi's bored expression stretched into a sadistic smile and she backed away from the window as he moved forward toward the kitchen where Ms. Hornsleth was talking to the butler. Plum shook her head at him before turning and running down the front stairs to the bottom floor, she slammed the door behind her and ran down the hall to the bedroom at the end and jumped in her bed, clothes and all.  
Plum firmly shut her eyes and buried her face into her lumpy pillow. The creak of the door opening made Plum involuntarily flinch. She watched the looming shadow get bigger on the torn wallpaper as Ms. Hornsleth reached out and ripped Plum's quilt away from her shivering body.

"In the basement." She growled. Plum sat up and glanced at Daichi who was at the door way, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Ms. Hornsleth, please-"

"Now!" Ms. Hornsleth grabbed Plum's hair and yanked on it until Plum fell out of bed. Ms. Hornsleth dragged her to the backyard. The early fall air nipped at Plum's nose and wet cheeks as she sniffled in her silent tears. They passed the well by the graves and Ms. Hornsleth shoved Plum inside the door leading to the basement stairs, "Why must you always disobey me!" Ms. Hornsleth grabbed Plum's left arm with the other hand, her long nails threatened to puncture through to Plum's skin, "I have fed you, cared for you." She rushed Plum down the stairs, the sound of the party fading as they descended into the cement hole. "And all you do is push me, Plum." Ms. Hornsleth's growls faded in the loud hum of the washing machines and the noise echoed off the walls of the small space. Ms. Hornsleth fiddled with her keys with one hand as the other held onto Plum's arm. Plum pulled against the hold but tried to remember not to be too resistant, as it wouldn't be the first time Ms. Hornsleth would make her bleed. The heavy wooden door swung open when she unlocked it and Ms. Hornsleth pulled Plum inside.

"Please don't do this." Plum cried, hugging herself for warmth in the small cold room. Ms. Hornsleth hesitated in closing the door.

"When you learn that it is your actions that bring you here, you'll be able to leave." Ms. Hornsleth shut the door, never breaking eye contact until it was closed with a definite clicking sound, leaving Plum in complete darkness.


End file.
